Wednesday afternoons were reserved for attending Esmeralda’s tea time.

As usual, when Herdin came to meet her, he encountered an uninvited guest clinging closely to her side.

The uninvited guest, upon seeing Herdin, greeted him with a smile that seemed almost brazen.

“We meet again, Duke Delmark.”

After the incident with Blair at the New Year’s festival, he would often encounter her whenever he visited the Empress’s palace.

At first, their meetings were sporadic, but at some point, she began to appear at the Empress’s palace every Wednesday without fail, occupying a seat. Now, she felt less like an uninvited guest and more like an official attendee of the tea time.

Although Herdin was irritated by the princess’s strangely familiar attitude towards him since the New Year’s festival, he tolerated her presence.

Esmeralda was quite fond of the princess, and her chattering voice that filled the otherwise quiet tea time wasn’t entirely unpleasant, especially in contrast to his own taciturn nature.

However, when Esmeralda briefly excused herself for an important matter, that voice suddenly fell silent.

Herdin, not particularly concerned by this, began reading the book he had brought. Blair followed suit, opening her own book.

A silence punctuated only by the turning of pages fell between them. More precisely, only the sound of Herdin’s pages turning could be heard.

Herdin sensed Blair glancing at him while pretending to read, but he ignored it.

The princess’s cautious gaze would land on him, then drop to her book. Realizing she hadn’t turned a page in a while, she would hastily flip one. It was rather amusing.

But even after a long while, the princess couldn’t bring herself to speak to him, despite her obvious desire to do so.

‘At this rate, it’ll be dawn before she says anything.’

In the end, it was Herdin who broke the silence.

“Did you have something to say?”

As he looked up with this question, he met her violet eyes, which quickly darted away in surprise.

Fumbling for words, Blair finally found something to say after noticing the book about the Southern Continent that Herdin was reading.

“Um… Have you ever seen the sea?”

“I’ve been a few times. In the summer.”

“With your parents?”

Blair clamped her mouth shut a beat too late after asking the question thoughtlessly. She had realized she had touched on Herdin’s painful past.

Herdin sneered as he read the apologetic expression on Blair’s face.

Did she think that he, who had heard far worse things since his parents’ passing, would be hurt simply because someone mentioned his parents?

He felt a mix of conflicting emotions – curiosity at her cautious attitude, so different from those who made light of his misfortune, and irritation at what seemed like pity.

Herdin responded casually.

“Yes. With my parents.”

Only then did Blair’s face relax.

“I heard the sea is like an enormously huge lake. They say you can’t see anything at the end of the sea!”

“That’s called the horizon.”

Blair’s eyes sparkled as she talked about the sea. It was a stark contrast to her earlier hesitation.

“When I grow up, can you take me to see the sea?”

Herdin raised an eyebrow at Blair’s words and questioned in return.

“Why me?”

Blair, who had expected either acceptance or rejection, pondered for a moment at this unexpected question before answering.

“Because you’re the strongest person I know, and you’ve been to the sea before…?”

Herdin chuckled wryly at Blair’s naive response.

The young princess didn’t seem to understand what it meant for a grown noblewoman to leave her hometown with a man who was neither family nor a knight escort.

But there was no need to reject her outright.

“If that is your wish, I shall do so.”

Blair beamed at his ready agreement.

“It’s a promise then.”

Herdin gazed blankly at the bright, smiling face turned towards him. That face soon blurred and, with a blink of his eyes, changed into a familiar scene.

After staring at the ceiling for a moment, Herdin recalled the dream he had just had and scoffed at himself.

Why had that promise, now useless and filled only with hatred, appeared in his dream?

Erasing the lingering face like an afterimage, he rose from his bed. It was barely dawn, but he didn’t think he could fall back asleep even if he tried.

Herdin ran his hand through his hair as he washed his face, then grabbed the cigar and lighter from the bedside table and stepped out onto the balcony.

The early morning breeze had grown quite cool as autumn approached. It would warm up again once the sun rose.

Herdin lit the cigar and put it to his lips, mulling over the day’s schedule.

This evening, a victory banquet would be held at the Imperial Palace to celebrate his triumph.

It would be his first official appearance in years since the incident at the Empress’s Palace. It would also be the first time he would face Blair since that incident.

What expression will you make when you see me after more than a decade?

As Herdin tried to imagine what she might look like as an adult, he exhaled the smoke he had been holding.

In his blue eyes, now cleared of the acrid cigar smoke, only a cold emotion remained.

* * *

“Keep an eye out for any suitable young ladies at this banquet.”

On the way to the Imperial Palace where the victory banquet was to be held, Luth looked at Herdin with worried eyes as he made this request.

Instead of asking what he meant by this sudden remark, Herdin shifted his gaze from the window. Luth then elaborated.

“I hear His Majesty the Emperor is looking for a suitable match for the Princess. Now that she has come of age.”

“What does that have to do with me looking for a woman?”

“Who would be the most eligible bachelor in the Empire at this moment, when Your Grace has returned from war with such a great victory?”

“So, they’re considering me as a potential husband for the Princess? Me, the nephew of the deposed Empress who allegedly attempted to assassinate the Princess?”

“The Imperial family must know about the false charges against the Empress, so that shouldn’t be an issue. If they were to welcome Your Grace as the Imperial son-in-law now, when your reputation is at its peak, it would also elevate the Imperial family’s standing.”

Herdin scoffed at Luth’s words. It was laughable how they were trying to foist the daughter onto him after framing Esmeralda as a criminal.

“And well, even if it’s not about that specific issue, it’s time for you to choose a wife and start a family. You’ve restored the family’s reputation, now it’s time to produce an heir and solidify your position.”

It was a speech he had heard so often from his vassals that he could recite it in his sleep, even before going to war. He had been putting it off until now, but seeing even Luth bring it up, it seemed it would be difficult to ignore any longer.

“So, please, look for a suitable young lady. Alright?”

When Herdin brushed off the request half-heartedly, Luth anxiously continued to press for an answer.

The well-intentioned nagging only stopped when the carriage arrived at the Imperial Palace.

As he entered the banquet hall, all eyes of the nobles who had arrived earlier turned to him. As Herdin was exchanging greetings with them, the doors of the banquet hall opened and a servant’s voice rang out.

“His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor!”

Herdin quietly observed Blair, who appeared behind Ivan.

The Princess, now of age after more than a decade, bore a striking resemblance to her mother, who had been known for her legendary beauty.

As he wore a sardonic smile at the sight, Blair felt his gaze and their eyes met.

She blinked her large violet eyes as she stared at him, then, as if belatedly realizing who he was, she became flustered and averted her gaze.

And not once did she look at Herdin again.

That behavior, avoiding him when she was the one who had wronged him, strangely irked him.

As he continued to watch Blair, who refused to look at him, Ivan spoke up.

“Naturally, the first dance of the banquet belongs to the guest of honor. Let Duke Delmark, today’s protagonist, choose his dance partner.”

At Ivan’s words, all eyes in the banquet hall turned to Herdin. Even Blair’s gaze, which had been avoiding him, turned his way.

When their eyes met again, Blair quickly averted her gaze once more. Herdin’s lips twisted as he watched this.

With everyone in the banquet hall watching him, Herdin’s feet began to move.

He stopped in front of Blair.

Unable to avoid his gaze any longer, Blair raised her head to look up at him. Her large eyes betrayed a myriad of emotions.

Emotions like fear and confusion.

Herdin, finally meeting those eyes, kissed her hand. Her eyes wavered, and he felt the delicate hand in his tremble slightly.

Satisfied with this reaction, Herdin curled his lips into a smile and spoke.

“Would you do me the honor of being my first dance partner, Your Highness?”

In truth, his first dance partner was all but decided. At this banquet held in his honor, choosing another noble lady would likely spark a scandal.

But selecting the Princess, the most noble unmarried woman in the current Empire, as his partner would be seen as a gesture of respect towards the Emperor who had hosted this victory banquet.

She seemed not to have considered this fact. Or more precisely, she appeared not to have expected to be chosen at all.

After staring at Herdin with trembling eyes for a moment, Blair eventually nodded slightly, as if resigned.

“Then… I’ll be in your care, Duke Delmark.”

Taking Blair’s hand and leading her to the center of the banquet hall, Herdin wrapped his arm around her waist.

Their bodies were pressed so close that he could hear her breathing. He felt Blair hold her breath at the contact. It was quite amusing how she seemed to be trying to avoid even her breath touching him.

Soon, the orchestra began to play.

As Herdin took the lead, Blair, after a moment’s hesitation, skillfully followed his guidance.

While he had been rolling around on battlefields, how many men had she danced with to become this adept at matching her partner’s rhythm?

As this thought crossed his mind, the sardonic smile on his lips tightened. At the same time, the arm around her waist tightened as well.

Surprised by the closer proximity, Blair looked up at him with wide eyes. Herdin, without loosening his grip, looked down at her with cool eyes and whispered.

“Breathe.”

Yet despite Herdin’s command that was not quite a command, her breath never touched his neck.

Only her unique sweet scent lingered at the tip of his nose. Even after the dance ended, after the music stopped, for a very long time.